CONTENT 2A Little Thought
3The Art of Carey 5Amy Said
6Cake Town
8Beginings - Early Biro Sketches
9Into Shadow 10Getting A Little Abstract 11The Artist in Question
Into the Night
I had a little thought hiding in my mind
A little thought that told me always to be kind A little thought that said, try to stay calm For matters of no consequence should not cause alarm Think before reacting, try to do no harm
This little thought it told me, try not to sow discord For if you treat others with kindness Kindness brings it’s own reward.
I was out walking one day when the first two lines of “A Little Thought” came to me. When I got home I wrote the rest of the poem and a few days later I drew the illustration to go with it.
Humour
Editor: Paul Opiah
Copyright- Carey Whitehead
of Susan Storer
Carey Whitehead was born in Ilkeston in 1953 and is a poet and artist who lives and works in Derbyshire. He started painting and writing poetry in the 1970’s. His first works were mainly biro and pencil drawings. He also started writing song lyrics for fun around the same time.
I have known him for over fifteen years and we met through our mutual interest in martial as well as the visual arts.
He is primarily a self-taught artist although he did take an art A level whilst employed in the further education sector.
He works with a range of media, mainly gouache, acrylics and pastels, as well as pencils, oils and pen and ink on occasion.
I find his work interesting because many are imaginative creations. I suppose in some
I could describe it as organic, is often unplanned and revolving around a single subject. For example, he starts with a basic idea, often drawing a moon, face or tree (which he uses as a starting point) then develops the work from there.
I like his work because of the way he often writes poetry then illustrates it, or produces an artwork then writes a poem to complement it.
His work is an eclectic mix which for me captures all sorts of emotions. Ranging from humorous, melancholy and bright and cheerful. Oftenbeing sensitive and/or enchanting.
His style of his work often reminds me of the artist Mabel Lucy Atwell and his work evokes happy childhood memories for me and always puts a smile on my face when I see it.
I’d rather sit in silence, than listen to the world
If listening is going to make me sad
I’d rather have my happy thoughts, full of hope and joy
If that is what it takes to make me glad
I was attending a well-being support session when the group leader commented that she lived in a top floor flat. She said one of the things she liked to do, especially after a stressful day, was to sit in the quiet space that the upper most part of her flat afforded. Her comments inspired me to write “Amy Said” within moments of her speaking and shortly after I produced the illustration to complement it.
Amy Said-Mixed media - Felt tips/ Coloured pencils
Poem and Illustration
Top right: Jukebox
Bottom: Scarecrow. Media - Gouache
I’d had the idea of portraying a town made of cake for a while and this for me was initially a practise piece using water-colour pencils. It was a stop start item for several years as I found I couldn’t take to watercolour as a medium.
Finally in 2021, looking somewhat crumpled it emerged into the light of day once more. However, re-stretching the paper restored it to a usable condition. I next decided to abandon any hope of completing it with water-colour and used Gouache instead. I’m pleased with the finished item and glad it came good (instead of going in the bin) in the end.
Top: Cake Town (2012/21) Mixed media. Artists Water- colour Pencils and Gouache. Approximate size 16” x 11.5” (un-framed) @ Carey Whitehead (2021)
right:
erewashrhythmandart.com
Driving home from my brothers one day I was coming into Southwell when for some reason I commented to my wife ‘you don’t see any Skyscrapers around here do you!’ No reason or rhyme to it really but this picture was the result of the comment. A wallpaper scraper removes the day to reveal the night pattern underneath.
Top: Skyscraper
Centre right: Perfect Day – Acrylic.
Centre left: Untitled Flowers
Bottom: Tiger Tom on Patrol – Gouache.
Bottom right: Medi-tater
Sketching out things is like happily drowning in a river of thoughts, creativity, and coordination and of course patience. When you begin sketching your initial lines, the mesmerizing attraction of your creativity ties you to the sketch until it is completed, and you have signed it. Your ability to refine your work into a masterpiece depends on the coordination between your mind and your hands. The eternal happiness you get when you make your art exist is inexplicable, i.e. undefined. You might be an introvert, a socialite, a popular sketcher or a famous poet. Nothing gets considered when it is just you and your sketch.
I have grown old with the passage of time. Many lines now dance on my face. But you, my companion, my shadow, my friend, you shall not ever age.
Each day we stand at each other’s side or maybe otherwise at hand.
Even when night encloses me, still you are there ghostly, inspired dim, in the moonlight. You entwine with others, like so many lovers, dauntless you cast upon the land, A myriad of forms, thought provoking images, which I mayor may not comprehend.
And there at the end, when I must bend to my inevitable fate.
Whatever the future holds, whatever is foretold, I know you’ll guide me through whatever awaits. Listen to the wind blow over my memory stone as they lay me in the ground most hollow.
Do not weep for me, I am not far away. For I have only “slipped into shadow”
Not my thing really but I’ve had some interesting comments about them. One person commented they had “found a mouse” in ‘Just having Fun’ Another said; “it looks like a butterfly and a leaping frog in front of a red bridge, looking through/underneath the bridge in the distance is a beautiful sunrise”
The comments I got re; The Garden of delights included; “I can see a tiger with two eyes”, “I see an angry eye”, it reminds me of parachutes’: “it looks like a chimps tea party with too many bananas’: “it reminds me of Skeggy (Skegness) rock” and; “there’s a partially sucked gobstopper”. To say I was just messing around they were generally well received and it just shows how various people view the same work so differently.
realised her shadow had the soft out-line of someone in their youth. I took a picture on my phone, hastily wrote a draft poem and this led to the creation of the illustrated poem `Into Shadow’
Q. What’s your most embarrassing moment?
A. I’ve had too many to pick one in particular.
Q. What jobs have you done other than being an artist?
Painter and decorator, Storeman in a garage, Vinyl Foam production operative, Fork lift driver, Hospice volunteer worker, Learning support assistant, mentor and lecturer in the field of further education.
Q. Why Art?
A. Why not? It’s a great form of self-expression.
Q. What is an artistic outlook on life?
A. I would have thought that depends on the individual artists perception of what they wish to achieve through their work.
Q. Why do you do what you do?
A. Not an easy question to answer. I like to write poetry. This often conjures images in my mind which on occasion translates into art. (Ie: Illustrated poetry.) Songs also cojure up images in my mind which often translate into art works. You could say I do it to capture the moment?
Q. How do you work?
A. Mainly from my imagination. Sometimes I have an idea that I sketch out. More often I will start with an item such as a head, leaf or kite then add onto the work as it progresses. Other artists have described my work as organic and/or impulsive.
Q. What role does your artwork have in the community?
A. Hopefully it brings pleasure to others. If it raises a smile or encourages others to take up art as a pastime. What more can one ask?
Q. Explain what you do in 100 words.
A. To my mind that’s not possible.
Q. How has your practice changed over time?
A. I dont think it has really. I get a feeling/idea for something and go for it hoping it all works out. I dont usually plan things. I tend to just, Pop, Bubble and Squeak along!
Q. What art do you most identify with?
A. No particular style. My tastes are pretty eclectic.
Q. What work do you enjoy most doing?
A. I would say illustrated poetry, but if I am honest, if a piece works out well it’s the end product rather than the process that gives me the most satisfaction.
Q. What themes do you persue?
A. None in particular.
Q. What’s your favourire artwork?
I don’t really have one, but regarding my own work ,’ Hole in my Shoe’ inspired by listening to the band `Traffic’ would be a good contender. I also love album cover artwork, particularly that of Roger Dean, Tammo De Jongh and Phil Travers. Also the fantasy art of Arthur Rackham.
Q. Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?
A. Sitting in a cafe with friends when sunlight threw the shadow of one of them, the head in particular onto the wall opposite me. Although the subject was in her seventies, I
Q. What memorable responses have you had to your work?
A. Someone purchasing an absract painting of bricks I created because they thought it was a picture of cheese on toast. Also fellow artists comparing me to Mabel Lucy Atwell and Beatrix Potter. Although I havent got a clue why. I think any similarity is tenuous at best.
Q. What food, drink or song inspires you.
A. A fair number of my creations are inspired by pop songs. Predominantly from the 1960’s to 80’s
Q. Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
A. No, I’ve never found it lonely.
Q. What do you dislike about the art world?
A. Critics, as they can influence the success or failure of artists. My own personal belief is that many of them judge works by their own personal taste as much, if not more so, than the quality of work. One could argue that critics are biased?
Q. What do you dislike about your work?
A. Like many artists I am my own greatest critic. I always feel I could do better.
Q. What do you like about your work?
.When people tell me they can identify with a work. Triggering memories and/or an emotional response.
Q. What makes you angry?
In my personal opinion. Artists who get recognition for inferior work because they have the right connections and can talk the talk, while others who are technically and artisticly gifted achieve no acclaim despite years of effort. Also those who critizise the efforts of others whilst failing or refusing to recognise the short-comings in their own work.
Q. What research do you do?
A. How can you research imagination?
Q. Name three artists you’d like to be compared to?
A. None that I can think of.
Q. Favourite or mostly inspirational place (in Erewash)
A. None
Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
A. If you are happy with your work, don’t worry what other people think and try not to compare yourself to others.
People often ask me what inspires my artwork and I would say it is a combination of sound, vision, life events and the written word. For me art and music ‘particularly in the form of pop songs’ are inextricably linked. That is not to say this is true for all artists but there does seem to be a connection for many.
A disjointed trail of a children’s home and placements within extended family meant that as a child I rarely felt settled or that I fully belonged anywhere. The one constant in my life was music, particularly songs on the radio. I remember memorising songs such as ‘Dead End Street’ and ‘Waterloo Sunset’ by the Kinks and imagining the places and situations these songs described. Music and songs became refuges where I could hide away from the real world, places where I never felt alone. In my late teens I started collecting L.P’s (Long playing records) whenever finances allowed. The funny thing is, looking back, many of the albums I bought such as ‘In the Wake of Poseidon’ and ‘In the Court of the Crimson King (Both by King Crimson) I bought because I liked the cover art. They had a visual appeal that made the music ‘look good’ if you like. By the 1970’s I had developed a habit of doodling on cardboard boxes andscraps of paper In between serving customers at my place of work. I remember sketching a fishing scene that a friend took home to show his father, local artist Alan Webster, who encouraged me to further develop my artistic ability
Bottom left: Night of the long grass
Bottom right: Moon
I particularly like producing night scenes, especially on black cards or Faux Leather. Personally I find them more atmospheric than my other artworks and feel that they leave far more to the imagination.
Top: “Please Can I Have My Ball Back”
Centre: “I Think I’ve Lost My Sense of Smell” Media - Acrylic on canvas
Bottom: Fishing for cheese - Media -
Gouache
Bottom left:
